morrison-dylan-fan Seeing a poll coming up on ICM for the best films of 1969,I excitingly get set to at last open the Jean-Pierre Melville I had picked up over X-Mas. Being one of the Melville titles I've heard the most about,I went to join the army at the port of shadows.View on the film:Appearing together for the final time, (after Jacques Feyder's Back Streets of Paris and Henri-Georges Clouzot's Les Diaboliques) Paul Meurisse and Simone Signoret (who fittingly appear in the final scene together) gives incredibly expressive performances as Jardie and Mathilde. Tearing away her Femme Fatale glamour, Signoret brings a grit to Mathilde's extensive planning that cinders on the one resistance to her heart. Encountering Signoret/Mathilde in the final scene, Paul Meurisse gives a tense, calculating performance as Jardie, (who was based on Jean Cavaillès)whose philosophical outlook is kept intact by Meurisse,even during the bleakest moments for The Resistance. Left in the dark with only Jardie's books to keep him company for weeks,Lino Ventura (who did not get on with Melville,they only spoke to each other through assistants!)carries Gerbier with a determination gravitas over following a code of loyalty to fellow Resistance fighters,and displaying an astute awareness over the force they are attempting to defeat.Marching into the opening with Nazis marching down the Champs Elysees, writer/directing auteur Jean-Pierre Melville (JPM) shows the attention to detail and care that comes from having been in The French Resistance, as the army of shadows discuss plans and exchange info in clamped, dark locations. Always keeping an eye on who might be looking over their shoulders, JPM boils an atmosphere of dread in sawn-off tracking shots following Gerbier to avoid the long arms of the Nazis. Placing the audience at the centre of The Resistance activates, JPM adapts Joseph Kessel's memoir with a striking clarity over mapping out the methods the group uses to plan for their next act of resistance. Whilst flowing from the pages of true events, JPM brilliantly weaves in the major themes that run across his work,with the survival of the group relaying on them each following a Melville code of loyalty that is haunted by lingering doubt they each share over who can be trusted in the army of shadows.

blanche-2 "Army of Shadows" looks like it was made in the '40s. It was in fact made in 1969 by Jean-Pierre Melville. Its timing couldn't have been worse, as De Gaulle was unpopular at the time. This film was thought to glorify the Free French Resistance and therefore DeGaulle. It wasn't until later that it was discovered as a true masterpiece.A little history here - France didn't feel it could beat the Nazis (how many Frenchmen does it take to defend Paris? No one knows, it's never happened) but DeGaulle knew that France could and formed the Free French Resistance. The story takes place in France, 1942, during the Nazi occupation. Philippe Gerbier (Lino Ventura), who also narrates, is one of the major heads of the French resistance. He escapes from an internment camp and joins his group in Marseilles. What we see then is the true workings of the French resistance - the daily sacrifices, the loyalty, the arrests, working on escapes, the killings, the hiding, and doing what they must not only to survive but to keep the movement alive. Simone Signoret is Mathilde, one of the bravest and most admired resistance fighter. A wonderful performance as always, that of an earthy woman who seems to be the rock of the group.Lino Ventura, a fascinating man in his own right, is efficient in his performance, so non-spy or resistance-like, demonstrating that bravery and fight are not just for the young.There is nothing James Bond-like here, no CGI, just life for the Resistance during World War II. Torture is alluded to but not shown. One of the best moments is an act of heroism that takes place in prison.The film is based on a novel by Joseph Kessel, which mixed in his own work with the Resistance. Jean-Pierre Melville, the director, aided and abetted by Alain Delon, invented the cerebral hit man. Though best known for his crime movies, this is perhaps his best work. Beautifully photographed in muted colors, the dialogue until the end is spare, as is Melville's clean, straightforward direction.Though this is an exceptional film, I want to point out some others - some reviewers talk about the resistance being glamorized. Perhaps in Hollywood, but I would highly recommend Female Agents and Carve Her Name with Pride as two wonderful films that endeavor to tell the story of true, quiet heroism. Watch it through to the end, as the film gives the fate of many of the characters.Don't miss an opportunity to see this sobering film.

gavin6942 An account of underground resistance fighters in Nazi-occupied France.A year ago (2014) I had never heard of this Melville character, with the only person by that name is my world being the "Moby Dick" author. Now, a year has passed and I have seen just about everything this guy has directed. Although he does not seem to be well-known, he is critically acclaimed -- all his films rate highly on IMDb and most are available from the Criterion Collection.Whether war, or gangster or noir, or... a pretty decent variety of genres, he has a style that uses color very nicely, without smothering us in it. It's not Argento or Greenaway, but just enough color to be enticing without being the focal point.

Ashirvad Parida I do not understand what is so great about this movie what underground activities they did is hardly shown except references and killings there is hardly any logic for title except the dark background and the lead character who is an engineer.you never identify with them at any point except three instances one where they silence a traitor although he is a loved one two where he swallows a sheet of paper to avoid being caught by Nazis and three at last where he kills Mathailde his Savior the characters introduced also fail to arouse any interest it seems the director has made the film mostly for the pleasure of it.complete waste of time. add to that 8.2 is not the score the movie deserves it is at best a 7.8 movie. People with serious expectations advised to stay away